A SHORT HISTORY OF THE ALAWITE AND ALEVI SHIITE SECTS BY ANUSHIRVAN……..

Anushirvan was kind enough to leave the following in the comments to the post on Turkish Alevi Shiites worrying about their co-religionists in Syria if the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood ever rises to power there. Anushirvan writes a concise report on the two sects in question and how they relates to each other. Well worth the read.

Alevis are a Shi’ite subdenomination, and a heterodox one at that. The basis for Alevis’ most distinctive beliefs is found in the Buyruks (compiled writings and dialogues of Sheikh Safi al-Din (eponym of the Safavi order), Ja’far al-Sadiq (the Sixth Imam), also included are hymns by figures such as Shah Ismail I or Pir Sultan Abdal (a Pir is the leader of a Sufi order), stories of Hajji Bektash Vali (a Persian mystic) and other lore.

The Safavi order was originally a Sufi order with heterodox / syncretic Sufi-Twelver Shi’ite core tenets. Until Shah Ismail I started his policy to convert Iran from Sunnism to predominantly legalistic Twelver Shi’ism, under the influence of Lebanese Shi’ite clerics, invited to Iran by the Shah. Shah Ismail I however is also a key figure revered in Alevi Islam.

Also take note that Alevism celebrates the pre-Islamic Nowruz (New year) festival.

Depending on the particular viewpoint of Sunnis, Alevis are either highly suspect as Muslims or can be considered totally kafir (according to Salafis or mainstream Sunni clergy) based on the fact that they:

1) are Shi’ites
2) retain Sufi elements in their religion
3) retain pre-Islamic ritual practices, which can be designated as “folk elements”

Alevi and Alawi Shi’ism are two different strains of Shi’ism that are closely akin to one another, because both terms, Alawi and Alevi, have the same root, they both refer to Ali Ibn Abu Talib. The particular reverence for Ali is the common core tenet, the prerequisite of all Shi’ism, something that is generally absent from pure Sufism or mainstream Sunni Islam. Some Shi’ism, however, like Alevism, is heavily influenced by overlapping concepts or rituals performed in Sufism. (particularly some mystical elements), which make Alevism heterodox Shi’ism, rather than Shi’ism-influenced Sufism, as in the Bektashi Sufi order that borrows heavily from Alevism in turn)

Although they are separate strains of Shi’ism, Alawi and Alevi Shi’ism have distinct features and some features that overlap one another in turn. In fact, the history of heterodox Shi’ism is closely tied with a geographical area that spans from the border regions of Iran and Turkey all the way through northern Iraq into Syria and Lebanon.

Ismaili Shi’ism, (also found in Syria) that, in turn, overlaps with the Druze religion (although most religious Druze consider themselves a separate religion, some historians give credence to idea that it was rooted in Ismaili Shi’ism as a schismatic movement within that faith)

The relationship between Alevis and Sunnis is one of mutual suspicion and prejudice dating back to the Ottoman period as a consequence of Safavi vs Ottoman enmity. Sunnis have accused Alevis of heresy, heterodoxy, rebellion, betrayal and immorality, and they are distrusted as a fifth column that historically may serve Persian Shi’ite interests ever since.

In today’s political arena Alevis see themselves as a counterforce to Sunni fundamentalism in Turkey. Alevis, who have a great interest in blocking the rising fundamentalist influence, are the main allies of the democratic secularists, and have helped the Atatürk’s Kemalist movement a great deal in the modernization efforts in Turkey. However, but this didn’t exempt them from persecution in later stages, when the emphasis again shifted towards the traditional Shi’ite vs Sunni enmity, even in modern Turkey. They are demanding that the state recognize Aleviness as an official Islamic community equal to, but different from, Sunnism. As of today the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) only represents and promotes Sunni Islam based on the Hanafi school of law, and does not recognise Alevis.

If the history of Alevism is anything to go by, then it would be a safe assumption that Alawi Shi’ism, with which Alevism shares a few notable commonalities (it can’t really be a coincidence that the Alawite regime is secular-oriented, for one thing) will be equally persecuted should the regime be ousted at the hands of Salafis or Muslim Brotherhood affiliate organisations. All minorities in Syria will consequently be in for a very rough ride, comparable with the unenviable fate of cultural minorities in Erdogan’s Turkey. (including, of course, the Christians)

[…] Drew Dellinger Releases New Book of Poems in the Middle of Occupy Wall Street Demonstrations: “Love Letter to the Milky Way” Connects Spirituality and Social JusticeThe Design Studio – 3D Studio Max AnimationMusical FantA SHORT HISTORY OF THE ALAWITE AND ALEVI SHIITE SECTS BY ANUSHIRVAN…….. […]

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Melting pot societies are the only way to secure the individual…

Multiculturalism is a gross failure. Assimilation, where celebrating one’s own heritage but as a full member of the dominant culture, wins.

There Is No Such Thing As White Cultural Heritage. The West’s Legacy Is Open To All…

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Still, is there something to it? Is there a common heritage that will cover El Greco and Hume and Dostoyevsky? Is there one that can include the Jacobites and the Jacobins? There is, but it is not racial, and white supremacists reject it because it rejects them. The unifying heritage of Europe is religious and philosophical. It is Jerusalem and Athens, in one famous formulation. Christian religion and Greek philosophy, filtered through Roman law and culture, are the foundation of European culture. The tensions, agreements, developments and settlements between these have shaped the Western world, and these roots of Western civilization are not congenial to white supremacy.

Christianity is universal in its message and Jewish in its origins. For centuries after its founding, Christianity’s center was the Mediterranean world, including Asia Minor and North Africa. Christianity has never been defined by race, and locally-grown racist heresies are only sustainable among those ignorant of Christianity’s teachings, origins and history.

Greek philosophy is likewise ill-suited to serve as a basis for white identity. It is either too universal (addressing the human condition in general) or too local—none of us live as citizens of an ancient Greek polis. Later philosophical developments in Europe, such as the philosophies of the Enlightenment, likewise tend to be too universal for white supremacists seeking a tribal identity. As for the scientific revolution that developed within Western culture (albeit with much borrowed from outside Europe), math doesn’t care what color someone is.

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SECULARISM AND RELIGION: THE ONSLAUGHT AGAINST THE WEST’S MORAL CODES

War is being waged against Western culture from within which is in essence a war against Christianity and its moral origins in the Hebrew Bible. By attacking these Biblical foundations in the name of reason and human rights, the culture warriors of secularism are sawing off the branch on which they sit. The only way to defend Western civilisation is to reaffirm and restore its Biblical foundations. My argument is a development of ideas I first explored in my 2012 book The World Turned Upside Down: The Global Battle over God, Truth and Power.

We are living in an era which extols reason, science and human rights. These are said to be essential for progress, a civilised society and the betterment of humanity. Religion is said to be their antithesis, the source instead of superstitious mumbo-jumbo, oppression and backward-thinking.

Some of this hostility is being driven by the perceived threat from Islamic terrorism and the Islamisation of Western culture. However, this animus against religion has far deeper roots and can be traced back to what is considered the birthplace of Western reason, the 18th-century Enlightenment.

Actually, it goes back specifically to the French Enlightenment. In England and Scotland, the Enlightenment developed reason and political liberty within the framework of Biblical belief. In France, by contrast, anti-clericalism morphed into fundamental hostility to Christianity and to religion itself.

“Ecrasez l’infame,” said Voltaire (crush infamy) — the infamy to which he referred being not just the Church but Christianity, which he wanted to replace with the religion of reason, virtue and liberty, “drawn from the bosom of nature”.

Perfecting society

But this Enlightenment did not remove religion so much as pervert it. It took millenarian fantasies, the idea that the perfection of the world was at hand, and it secularised them. Instead of God producing heaven on earth, it would be mankind which would bring that about. Reason would create the perfect society and “progress” was the process by which utopia would be attained.

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Nothing in Islam exists apart from anything else. While liberals view culture and religion as a buffet that they can pick and choose from, it is a single integrated system. If you accept one part, you must accept the whole. Once you accept any aspect of Islam, you must accept its legal system and once you accept that, you must accept its governance and once you accept that, you lose your rights.''

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